Welcome Back Dear Sister
by Wildcat Warrior
Summary: This is my first Charmed story on here, so I hope you all are nice. Anyway, Prue has been gone for six months, and Piper is not able to handle it as well as Paige and Phoebe thought she was able to. There are a few family issues that try to get in the way as everyday life gets to moving along, but they find a way through it together, just like they always do.


**Welcome Back Dear Sister**

**Chapter One**

**The Deal**

Phoebe was pretty well starting to adjust to Paige being around, but Piper on the other hand, still kept trying to summon Prue. Even though Piper would talk to Paige and tell everyone they knew, that they were sisters, in the back of Piper's mind and in the bottom of her heart, Prue was still there with her. It's a Tuesday and while Piper is getting ready to meet with the manager of "Red Hot Chili Peppers" at her club, she looks at the clock and realizes that she has at least an hour until the man shows up to discuss everything.

"Grams. I don't know if you can hear me or not, or even if you want to talk to me right now after the spat we got into this morning, but if you're listening, I do need to ask a favor of you." Piper says, while trying to get Penny to answer her. They had had a big fight earlier that morning, when Penny told her no she would not be able to talk to Prue and that it was still too soon. Piper had told her, "For God's sake Grams, it's been six months. That should be long enough." Well, according to Patty and Penny, it wasn't long enough and Piper wasn't wanting to hear it.

"Piper. I may be hurt at your words toward me, but I will never stop talking to you darling. What can I do for you?" Penny asks, showing up in her bright white lights.

"I uh, I know you said that it was too soon for me to talk to Prue, but please. I just need five minutes. No, better than that, we all want her back. Paige keeps talking about how she was robbed and cheated out of meeting us all, and I do agree with her. She should be able to get to meet everyone. What could we do to get Prue back full time, if anything at all?" Piper replies.

"You really want to know? I would hate for you girls to do this, but, let me talk to your Mother. She has to know about this too. It will also be her decision in the matter, as to if we even tell you what you would have to do." Penny tells her.

"Okay, you're scaring your granddaughter here Grams. How about, you stop beating around the bush and just tell me? I'll even cancel my appointment today, and go home and tell Phoebe and Paige. No wait, they're both working so I'd have to wait, but I would tell them." Piper says, while looking for a pen and peice of paper to write down whatever Grams was getting ready to tell her.

"Trust me as you once did and let me talk to your Mom first. I'll let you know later on tonight." Penny says, as she just disappears, and Piper wants to know what she was talking about. Piper lays her head down on her arms across the bar and says, "I hate it when that woman does that."

Piper is back home and already met with the manager of "Red Hot Chili Peppers" and just as she is sitting down to relax for a bit, here comes Paige and Phoebe in a full blown conversation.

"All I'm saying is, no matter how much you disagree with your boss, there is nothing you can do about this situation. You're gonna have to just suck it up and pray that that little girl decides to one day open her mouth about the abuse before they end up killing her." Phoebe tells her.

"That's the one thing that goes through me Phoebe. I can not stand for someone to hit their kids. It's uncalled for." Paige replies, as she sits her purse on the table by the door.

"I know honny. It does me too, but you just can't go off on your boss and tell him how things are going to be. You're not even a social worker yet." Phoebe says, and they both head into the living room where Piper is, and they can see she looks like she's waiting for someone.

"We are going to be needed upstairs soon." Piper tells them both.

"Why? Was there another demon attack?" Paige asks her.

"No. I talked to Grams today and she said that her and Mom need to discuss something before they tell me, what we are going to have to do, for all of us to be here together." Piper replies.

"All of us? As in, Mom, Grams, and the three of us?" Phoebe asks.

"No, as in, you, Paige, Prue, and me." Piper tells her.

"Wait a minute. Sweetie, you already know that she can't be with us anymore. Grams told you that this morning. We heard the conversation all the way down here." Phoebe replies, and Paige is just standing there looking dumbstruck. They all go up to the attic where Penny and Patty are waiting for them with the answer as to what they will need to do.

"You asked me at your club Piper, what you girls would need to do to get Prue back full time. Your Mother and I talked it over, and I'm gonna let her talk to you about it." Penny tells her.

"Come over here with me sweetheart. Let's talk for a minute." Patty says, taking Piper aside. Penny stays and talks to Phoebe and Paige about their jobs and what all they have been up to.

"Mom, what's going on? What do we have to do?" Piper asks.

"Well, as much as your Grandmother and I hate to see you girls give up your destiny and what you were born to do, you got to do that in order to get Prue back. You girls are called The Charmed Ones for a reason, and the power of three, stands with only three of you. It was Prue's time to go because Paige was old enough to tap into her powers and take the reigns of what she was born to do. The timing was right, but I know it hurt all of you. Also, this is a way I can make up for everything to you all, is to give you Prue back, and have the three of you to give up your destiny and your powers, and live a normal life." Patty explains.

"Mom. Are you telling me, that we would not have to hunt and fight demons anymore, and always worry about losing one of us? We can finally do our own things now, and not worry about the next demon attack? Are you serious? Hell yes we want to do this! I can't really speak for them, but for me, there's nothing I've hated more here lately, than being woke up in the middle of the night and have to blow up a warlock or demon that the source has decided to send after us." Piper tells her, and she wipes a tear away at the thought of getting to hold her sister in her arms again and be reunited.

"That's what I'm telling you. All four of you, here together. That's the deal. Give up your powers, and your destiny, and the four of you stay here together. This house is big enough that the four of you can live here for life with your husbands and kids. What do ya say?" Patty replies, and Piper motions for Paige and Phoebe to join her and their Mom.

"What's up?" Phoebe asks. They tell her about what was just said, and everyone is in agreement. Patty tells them that the transition will take at least 24 hours to complete. The rest of the evening and night, all they can do is wait and see if it happens.

**Chapter Two**

**Saying Goodbye**

It's been right around 24 hours and since Piper, Paige, and Phoebe have all said they weren't going back to work until they seen Prue again, they all tried to pull an all nighter and stay up until she was returned. Piper and Phoebe are on the couch, both at opposite ends, and Paige is in the chair, and they are all asleep. Not one of them heard the front door open.

"What the hell is this? A damn dead zone? Good Lord!" Prue says, seeing them all there asleep like that.

"Prue! It's really you." Piper hollers, as she jumps up off the couch so fast that she knocks Phoebe in the floor.

"Yes, it's me. I'm back. Oh my God, come here all of you." Prue tells them, and Paige stands up to stretch, but she doesn't move from where she's standing.

"Paige, it's okay sweetie. This is Prue. She's our older sister." Phoebe tells her, while still hugging Prue, and crying all at the same time. Paige slowly makes her way over and hugs her.

"You uh, you got to sit down and talk to us for a bit. We've got a lot of catching up to do." Phoebe says, finally letting go long enough to let Prue breath. Leo walks in from work early, and is caught off guard.

"Honey, I'm sorry but, I got sent home early. I started getting sick, and I went by the hospital on my way here, and they said I have the worst case of stomach flu that they've ever seen. Hey Prue, how are you?" Leo says, not even knowing about the deal that was made or anything. He starts to head upstairs and then stops all of a sudden.

"Prue! What the, how are you here? I'm not complaining, but what's going on. Give me some love girl!" Leo, even though he is sick, says while hugging her and picking her up off the floor.

"Oh just a little deal that Piper made with Mom and Grams. We no longer have powers or anything of the sort, and I'm back. We're all here together. Our husbands, when Phoebe and Paige, and I get them, as well as our kids. Mom said that the house is big enough for all of us." Prue tells him.

"Well, they are right. God know I've worked on every nook and cranny around here. There's at least 12 bedrooms. I don't think we will need quite that many, but no more powers and demons and crap is good enough for me. I'm gonna go to bed, I feel like crap. Since you're back for good, I'll talk to everyone later on okay?" Leo replies. Piper goes up with him to get him settled in and Prue goes up to take a look at her room and get settled in again. She walks in and sees all of Paige's stuff there.

"Paige! Front and center! Pheebes, you too." Prue hollers.

"She's back." Phoebe says, getting all scared. Her and Paige go upstairs to see what the problem is, and when they get there, they find Prue putting things in bags and boxes.

"What is going on here?" Paige asks her.

"This was my room. Who gave it to ya? I just figured they would leave my room alone." Prue tells her.

"It was my idea. We didn't know that one day you would be back, and we needed a way to be able to move on, so we gave your room to Paige. Are you okay with that?" Phoebe replies.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry. I didn't realize. I shouldn't have blown up like that. Paige, I've just got a lot to get used to again. I've been gone for around six months. I need to get used to everything again. You can stay in this room, and I'll go down the hall. Sorry Paige." Prue tells her. Piper then sticks her head in the room to announce that she's gonna get a casserole started for supper and for them to watch it while she goes to town to get something for Leo that he will be able to eat.

Two days later, Leo is still sick and Cole comes by the house to see Phoebe. Leo is laying on the couch watching a little TV when Cole walks in to see what he's doing. They all have told Cole whenever he comes to visit, just come on inside and make himself at home.

"Hey brother. What's up? You don't look so hot." Cole says, taking a seat by the window.

"I'm still fighting the stomach flu. Phoebe's in the kitchen if you need to see her. I'm just watching the game. The angels are sucking this year." Leo tells him.

"Yeah, I can see that. Piper said a couple of days ago when I called that you was sick. Hope ya get to feeling better." Cole replies, while getting back up and heading toward the kitchen.

"Pheebes, ya in there? I have to talk to ya. It's important." Cole hollers, as he nears the kitchen where Phoebe is eating a salad and turkey sandwich for lunch.

"Yeah baby. Whatcha need?" Phoebe replies, taking a drink of her lemon tea that she just had to have Prue pick up for her at the store during the weekly grocery shopping trip.

"I was just informed that I have to stay away from you from now on. When Piper made that deal with your Mom and Grandma, and it stopped all magic and the powers, and the whole destiny thing, I have to stay gone." Cole tells her, and the news makes her drop her fork in the floor.

"You what? Cole, isn't there anything that we can do? There has to be something. What about a union like marriage? It worked with Piper and Leo, it has to work for us too." Phoebe asks.

"I already asked and they said no. They said even though all magic is gone, and normally we would be able too, they said that since you used to be a witch and I used to be the source's right hand man, that it was impossible because the plain and simple truth is, it's still there underneath. We all just have no more powers. I'm gonna miss you so much. It worked for Piper and Leo because they both are good, and were good when they got married. It wouldn't for us, because only one of us was good at the time. I'm sorry honey. I have to go." Cole explains to her.

"That still doesn't make any sence though?" Phoebe tries to protest in shock.

"I know but, you're not listening to me sweetheart. All magic is gone. So is evil and demons, and warlocks. That means, I have to go too. We were together and could be when magic was here. I'm half human, half demon. That means, that since all demons are no more, I have to go too." Cole tells her. She tries to say, "Yeah but Cole," and he again tells her, "All demons. Even me." He then just up and leaves out the back door and disappears as if he never existed at all. Phoebe is left there, a shattered mess, with tears streaming down her face.

"Hey Phoebe, do you know where Paige is? She had a phone call yesterday from someone, and now I can't find her." Piper says, coming in and seeing her stand there, crying.

"He's gone. Cole's gone Piper. He came and told me that since magic and all demons are gone, we can't be together anymore. All demons, included him too. Because he was half human, half demon, they took him too." Phoebe replies. She cleans up her mess in the kitchen and goes up to her room. She closes the door, and puts some of what used to be both her's and Cole's favorite music and songs, on so she can have a moment to remember the good times they shared. Paige and Prue come bouncing through the back door, and they see Piper standing there with a puzzled look on her face, and see that Phoebe isn't anywhere to be found.

"Is everything okay?" Prue asks, while putting some bags on the table and Paige starts to unload them.

"Phoebe said that Cole came and told her he had to be gone too. Something about, he was half human and half demon, so since all demons and evil and magic is gone, he had to go too. She went upstairs and I don't know weather to go up and talk to her, or leave her alone for awhile." Piper tells her.

"I would just leave her alone for a bit and give her some time. You know how she gets. If there's something on her mind and she is upset about something, she takes awhile before she's ready to talk about it. Give her until morning, and if she hasn't came out of her room yet, then we'll go and talk to her. For now, I need your help." Prue replies, and she hands Piper some papers.

"What the hell is this? Buckland's is wanting you to come back to work for them? I thought when you left, you told them there would be no going back because they wanted to cheat on the prices of stuff and say that it was authentic when it wasn't." Piper says, as she sits down with a cup of coffee to look over the papers, and Paige is still unloading bags.

"Hey, we didn't know what to pick up at the store, but we got something simple for supper tonight. I hope I didn't screw up on the flavor of the helper I picked." Paige adds to the conversation.

"No, I told you we all like that so you're fine. And yes Piper, I did tell them that I wasn't coming back. They think that I was just away for six months. They don't know about the deal that was made or about anything that was said. Apparently Mom and Grams erased time, and worked some magic for the last time, and no one even has any memory of me even being dead. All they think or know, is that I was away in another country or whatever. I don't want to go back to Buckland's but, we do need the money. Winter is coming up soon and it takes a lot to heat this place." Prue replies, dropping into a nearby chair, and she appears to really be out of breath.

"Are you okay?" Leo asks, coming into the kitchen.

"Yeah, I'll be alright. How about you? How are you feeling?" Prue asks, with her hand up to her chest. Leo says he's doing better, and Piper sneaks up to check on Phoebe even though Prue said to give her some time. Once Paige gets everything unloaded and sets out what she's gonna fix for supper, Prue goes to lay down for awhile and no one has any idea of the events that are about to unfold later that evening.

**Chapter Three**

**The Secret**

Everyone is sitting down to supper and telling Paige what a great job she did on it, when they hear movement upstairs.

"Think that's Pheebes moving around or Prue?" Paige asks.

"Could be both of them. I don't see Phoebe to come down for awhile though. Prue looked like she was nearly blue earlier so, who knows really." Piper tells her.

"Paige, this is so good. It feels wonderful to be able to eat solid food again." Leo says, and he acts like he can't get enough to eat from when he couldn't hold anything down for three days.

"Honey, slow down. Don't overdo it. I'm going to go and see who, if either one of them, is gonna feel like eating anything." Piper replies. She heads upstairs and finds Prue in a state worse off than what she was when they came in from town earlier that day. Phoebe was in the bathroom and when she walked out in the hall, she heard Piper talking to Prue and asking if she was okay. Phoebe goes in Prue's room where her and Piper are, and she can see how bad the situation is.

"Piper, what's wrong? Is she okay?" Phoebe asks, sitting on her bed by the both of them.

"Hey, you're out of your room. Good, cause I need your help. Go call Darrel and tell him we need him here right away. She can barely breath and she's turning blue." Piper says, in a panic.

"Okay but, I don't know what he will be able to do. He's an officer, not an EMT. That's probably what we need, unless she is able to walk to the car." Phoebe replies, while she turns to go find her phone so she can call Darrel.

"He will be able to help us. Ya know what, nevermind. Help me get her to the car." Piper tells her. Phoebe and Piper get Prue up and walking and while taking her out to the car, Piper hollers to Leo and Paige to let them know what's going on.

They all get to the hospital and get Prue inside where a nurse takes her to the ER right away. She gets her hooked up to oxygen and gets her vitals, then asks a bunch of questions. A doctor comes in shortly afterward and sees what's going on.

"It's a good thing you got her here when you did. She has a severe case of pneumonia, and I would like to admit her for at least tonight for observation, and run some fluids through an IV, and see if we can't get her to breathing better and get that fever of hers down." The doctor tells them all.

"I really hate the idea of staying overnight. I just got back from being gone for six months. I want to sleep in my own bed." Prue says, almost whining.

"Where was you at? That's a long time to be away." The nurse asks and they all don't know what to say, but Prue handles it so well, that they think something happened while she was gone.

"I was house sitting for a friend of ours in Greece while she was in China doing research, trying to find a cure for cancer. I didn't expect her to be gone as long as she was." Prue says, and Phoebe just nods her head and says, "Yeah, that woman has the nicest home I've ever seen. She definately needed a house sitter while she was gone." The doctor writes some things down, then tells the nurse to go ahead and take her upstairs for the night.

"Look, I'm sorry Ms. Halliwell, but you're gonna have to stay just for tonight. We'll see how things go come morning okay. Just stick it out for tonight. It won't be so bad." He tells her, and Phoebe looks about as white as a ghost.

"Are you okay hon? You look kind of peekid." The nurse asks her.

"Oh, I'm okay. I'm probably just getting what my brother in law had this past week. No big deal." Phoebe replies. They just go about things as usual and leave it alone. Piper offers to stay the night with Prue, and she tells her to go ahead home and take care of Leo and get him over his flu the rest of the way. Everyone heads out to the minivan and when they hit the parking lot, Phoebe is so sick that she is knocked to her knees just outside the door to the hospital.

"That's it. You're getting seen. There's something wrong with you." Piper says, helping her up and almost dragging her inside. The receptionist gets her registered, and they take her back. A nurse comes in and tells her that all of her symptoms point to one thing.

"What are you saying?" Phoebe asks her.

"I think you may be pregnant." The nurse tells her, and she sticks her head out the door and calls for a doctor.

"Yes? What's the matter?" The ER doctor asks.

"I think she may be pregnant. Would you like me to get labs drawn and urine tests ran?" The nurse replies. The doctor tells her to go ahead, and the nurse tells Phoebe that she will be back in just a few minutes. Phoebe just lays back on the bed and whispers, "Cole, I wish you could be here right about now. I already know what they are gonna find." The nurse then comes back in and asks which one she wants to do first between the blood work and the urine test.

"Urine test first. You stick me with that needle, and I'll need a fresh change of clothes to go home in." Phoebe tells her and the nurse directs her where to go.

Piper is in the room with Phoebe now, along with Paige when the doctor comes in and gives his ruling.

"Young lady, you're pregnant. Congratulations. You should make an appointment with your family doctor as soon as possible. For now, I have a prescription for you to get filled and get started on." The doctor says, while handing her a small peice of paper. Once he leaves the room, Phoebe looks over at Piper and Paige, and she has tears in her eyes cause she knows she will be raising the baby without Cole in their lives. Piper and Paige give their best smiles, knowing Phoebe's hurting. They put their arms around her, and Piper whispers "It's okay Pheebes. We'll make it." Paige tells her, "We love you. You know that right?" Phoebe nods her head yes, they go and let Prue know what's going on but find that she's asleep. They just go ahead home and wait to tell her when they get her home the next day.

When they get back home for the night, Phoebe is sitting in her room by the window, watching outside when Piper comes in to tell her goodnight. She sees her wipe a tear away, and she steps back out and knocks on the door. Phoebe lets her in and they talk for awhile.

"I didn't ever want to say anything, but I've known about the baby since an hour after Cole left. I thought ya know, that it was a little odd that the turkey sandwich made me a little sick. So I guess that getting seen tonight was a good idea. I needed to know for sure, and once I found out that is was positive, I did need to get started on the vitamins. I tried not to say anything at the hospital cause, I know that none of you have ever really liked Cole, so why in the world would his baby be liked or welcome around here right?" Phoebe explains, not even looking at Piper, but still looking out the window like she's waiting for Cole to show up any time, when she knows he isn't going to.

"You'd be wrong about that honey. We got to the point where we could tollerate Cole, and then once we found out that he was willing to give up everything evil about him for you, he was okay. He wasn't too bad. Prue and I had decided to just let him come in any time because of you. It may have taken us awhile, but we did come around. This baby will be more than welcome around here, and wanted. You should know that. We don't turn family away. Now, since we got that taken care of. Is there anything I can get for ya before I go to bed? One of us has to be at the hospital tomorrow morning to see about Prue." Piper tells her. Phoebe shakes her head no, indicating that she doesn't need anything, and tells Piper that she is getting ready to go to bed anyway.

**Chapter Four**

**Buckland's Auction House**

Prue is standing outside of the place she used to work at, debating with herself as to if she should walk back in there or not. She knows that the demons that worked there, are long gone for different reasons. One because they were vanquished, and two because of the deal that was made, and she knows that Phoebe and Piper, and even Paige, would not go back on that deal. She walks up to the door, then goes back to her vehicle.

"Damn it Pruedence. If you're gonna go inside, just do it. Don't just stand here looking like a dumb ass." Prue says to herself.

"Pruedence? As in Pruedence Halliwell? I'm Maxwell. I just started here last week. There's talk all over this place about Prue Halliwell and she was the best worker here before she disappeared. So, where were you at?" Maxwell asks, as he shakes her hand.

"I was house sitting for a friend of ours in Greece while she was away in China on medical research. I left here because they were always wanting to pass off fake paintings as the real thing when they weren't the real thing and they wanted to sell them at the regular price of the original ones. It's Prue by the way. Everyone else calls me just Prue." Prue tells him. They both go inside and while Maxwell heads off to his office, he turns around and tells her, "Hey Prue. I hope you come back to work here. It sure would be great to get to know ya. See ya." Prue just smiles and kind of sighs then makes her way down to the hiring center. While she's sitting there waiting to talk to the new manager, she's looking at a magazine when her phone rings. She answers and it's Phoebe.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Phoebe asks her.

"Well, I made it inside if that's you mean. I think I'm gonna work here again. We are going to need the money. Piper's income alone from the club isn't going to be enough to get us through the winter. It takes forever to heat that house, then we have you to think about with the baby coming. I know you're working part time, then Paige has her job, so we should be okay." Prue tells her, while she digs through her bag to make sure she brought the papers that Buckland's had sent to her.

"I appreciate every little bit that the three of you do for me, but Prue. I have to stand on my own feet right now. I want this baby to know that even though his or her Daddy is gone, he or she will always have one parent that's strong enough to stay around and take care of them and do what's needed. Have you talked to anyone yet?" Phoebe replies.

"Uh no, not yet. I've only been here for about five minutes though, so it's no big deal. Is there anything you want from town on my way back home?" Prue says, when the lady calls her back.

"Maybe just some peanut butter crackers. I have a craving and don't feel like going anywhere." Phoebe tells her.

"Okay Pheebes. I'll get them. I have to go. See you all when I get home. Love ya." Prue replies, and they both get off the phone. Prue goes into the lady's office to talk and when she hands her the papers she got through the mail, the lady tells her, "We are under new management and nothing here that is truly authentic, will be under sold. Whatever the item is, it's only going to be sold for the value for it is worth. You Ms. Halliwell, are hired once again. Congratulations. Now get out of here and go find your office. It's down the hall fourth door on your left. Welcome back." The lady tells her.

"Thank You. Fourth door on my left down the hall, that sounds like my old office anyway. Does it have red double doors?" Prue asks, getting up and swinging her bad over her shoulder.

"Yep. Same office. Is that a problem? We can move you to another one." Her new boss tells her.

"No, it's fine. I was just thinking about something. Sorry, I've been gone too long. The next time I house sit for someone, it's gonna be in this town, in this country, and only for a couple of days, not no six months. Thank You, when do I start?" Prue says.

"Is tomorrow too soon?" The lady who's name is Bethany Richards asks her. Prue tells her that it's perfect and she heads on to the store to get what Phoebe requested.

The next morning, Prue is up before anyone else just like she was before everything happened. She already has breakfast started for the others and the coffee going. It's now 6:45 and she knows that everyone should be coming down any minute. She doesn't have to be at work until 9:30, so she decided to get back in her old routine like before. All of a sudden, she starts to hear movement upstairs and then here they all come toward the kitchen. Phoebe is the last one there, seeing as how for her, the kitchen was the last place she got to see Cole before he left. They all have told her that she can't just not go in there anymore, so she does her best to join the rest of them.

"Please tell me there's coffee already made." Leo says, sitting down in the first chair he comes to.

"Yeah, why wouldn't there be?" Prue replies, while getting down plates and coffee cups.

"Well, it's my first day back to work since I've been sick. I've gotten kind of lazy around here, and sleeping all the time. I'm not even anywhere near woke up enough for work." Leo tells her. Everyone is talking among themselves and in conversation when Prue realizes it's now 8:15.

"Oh man. I have to go get ready for work. I have no idea what I'm even wearing today. Who's doing what today?" Prue says, jumping up to clear the table and clean up the kitchen.

"I've got that. I only have to go to the club today for a couple of hours. Leo's going back to work today, Paige is off today, and Phoebe is currently looking for work again. Go ahead and get ready." Piper tells her. Everyone goes their own ways and Piper leaves for the club, while Prue takes off for work and drops Leo off since his car is broken down, and Paige and Phoebe just hang around the house. Phoebe wasn't going to stay around home for very long so she decided to go out and land herself a job. She is in town walking around and finds a newspaper office called "The Bay Mirror" and decided to give it a try.

**Chapter Five**

**Isn't It Too Early**

Phoebe's been working at "The Bay Mirror" for around seven months and everyone keeps asking her when she's ever gonna have that baby. She always tells them, whenever it's time for her to have the baby, she will. They all just want to welcome her. Everyone at the newspaper office has warmed up to Phoebe and made her feel like she is family to them. Elise walks into her office one afternoon, and she can see that Phoebe's not herself.

"Hey kid. What are you up to? You're not real busy at the moment are ya?" Elise asks, while sitting down in front of her desk.

"Not really. I'm just trying to figure out how to respond to this lady here. She was in an abusive relationship, and she can't get rid of this guy. I don't go for a man hitting a woman and I just don't know what to tell her. I want to tell her to get the authorities involved, but then I think about how I'm gonna be raising this baby all by myself." Phoebe replies.

"Hon from what you told me, Cole was way different than this man here. Cole never put his hands on you or anyone in your family. The man that hit his wife, well he needs to be put away. Every situation is different. Just counsel her the best way that you can. You have a degree in phycology so go on that much." Elise tells her. Phoebe nods her head and says okay, and when she gets up to head home, she's knocked back down in her seat by sharp pains in her lower abdomen.

"Elise. Call Prue please." Phoebe says, while hiding her face. She didn't want Elise to see the look of torment on her face. Elise says she doesn't know the number, and Phoebe hands her purse to her and says, "Get my phone out of here and go through the contacts until you find her."

"I don't like doing this, and you know that. But, there's no time to argue. There's something wrong." Elise replies while taking Phoebe's purse and sitting on the couch. She gets a hole of Prue and tells her what's going on.

"Oh my God. Is she okay? Is she still there?" Prue asks.

"Yes. She's still here. I don't really know what's going on, but she said she's having sharp pains and they were so bad that they knocked her back down in the chair. She just wanted me to call you. What do you want me to do?" Elise tells her, and she starts writing down all of Prue's instructions. Elise finally hangs up with Prue and while she is getting Phoebe ready to go to the hospital and getting her stuff rounded up for her, Prue is running around the house trying to get things together.

"Oh screw this." Prue says to no one in particular while getting everything. She gets out her phone and calls Piper at the club.

"Hey Piper, when you get this don't bother calling me back. Just find Paige and the two of you meet me at the hospital, Phoebe's in possible labor. Elise just called me. Talk to ya later, I gotta go, love ya, bye." Prue says to Piper's voicemail.

"Fine damn time for her to not have her phone on her wherever she is at that club." Prue once again, says to herself. Prue gets about three different outfits for Phoebe for her hospital stay just in case, along with her favorite blanket, pajamas, and house shoes. Next she goes into her bathroom and grabs all of her shower stuff. In the back of her mind, Prue knows this is it and she is for sure in labor. She went through it with Piper and Phoebe when they were born, and she knows what all will be needed. Once she's done rounding everything up, she throws it all in a bag, runs down the stairs, slips on the rug, and has to sit there for about thirty seconds to regroup.

"Ouch, damn it. That one hurt." Prue says, jumping back up and running out the door.

Once Prue gets to the newspaper office, Elise has her outside on the bench and they are just waiting.

"Pheebes! Are you okay?" Prue asks, jumping out of the car and running over to her.

"Don't worry about me. I'm fine, what happened to you?" Phoebe replies, when she sees Prue holding her hip.

"I slipped on the rug in the foyer while running down the stairs after getting everything ready. Once I hit the foyer on my out the door to get you, I hit the floor next. You ready to go?" Prue replies, and Phoebe can't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?" Prue asks, bringing her hands up to her head and waving them outward.

"I'm just imagining you hitting the floor and then the words that must have came afterward. I'm sorry for laughing. I've hit that floor, and it does hurt. Oh, okay. Time to go." Phoebe tells her.

"For your information, the only thing I said was "Ouch, damn it. That one hurt." Come on, I've called and left Piper a voicemail and told her to find Paige and meet us there. I already know you're in actual labor. I've been through this already with Mom when the two of you were born." Prue says, helping her into the car. She gets her in the car and they take off for the hospital. Phoebe keeps thinking to herself that it's way too soon. She's only around seven and a half months, and been doing everything she should be doing. Prue can see that she's thinking about something, when they get closer to the hospital.

"You're not doing any breathing honey. What are you thinking about over there?" Prue asks.

"It's too soon. I'm not full term. What if there's something wrong?" Phoebe replies, while doing some light breathing when Piper calls and says she found Paige and that they are on their way to the hospital. They all meet up and Phoebe tells them that she is going to walk in herself without the use of a wheelchair.

"Okay, that's up to you Pheebes. We aren't going to stop ya." Piper says, hugging her. They get her inside and registered, and a nurse takes Phoebe and Prue up to the OB ward. Prue helps her change into her gown and once she gets to where she's nearly laying down, she seems to be doing better.

"Everything stopped. I'm okay now." Phoebe tells the nurse.

"I don't think so. This monitor here shows you are in fact, in labor and you're not going anywhere anytime soon. What are you having? Boy or girl?" Her nurse says, while going through the bedside drawer.

"My doctor said I was having a little girl. I'm gonna name her Tracy Cheyenne." Phoebe replies, and she asks what the nurse is looking for in that drawer.

"Oh, I'm just looking for the IV posts. I know I put them in here. Oh honey, please don't look at me that way. I don't like giving them to people cause I know they do hurt, but this is standard with any labor and delivery." The nurse says, and Prue is there sitting on the bed by her, trying to give her best smile to keep her calm enough to handle everything until Piper and Paige show up, but they seem to be having trouble with getting her registered. The receptionist keeps giving them the run around. Finally, they get the registering process over with and go up to Phoebe's room to help Prue with her. They get in there, and the nurse is just getting ready to administer the IV.

"Okay. I'm just gonna feel around first. I'm not gonna do anything until I find the right spot I promise. This one looks good. Oh wait a minute. That one popped right up, and it's deep too. Okay ready? One two three. Stick." The nurse tells her as she sticks her and she nearly jumps when Piper and Prue grab her and they both say, "Hold it."

"Hold still Pheebes. It's almost over with." Piper tells her, and the tears are already falling.

"I'm sorry honey, but we got it. See? It's in there good. That part's over with at least right?" The nurse says, as she rubs her back and smiles, and eventually Phoebe smiles back at her. The doctor comes in a short time later, and since there was no time for an epidural, her nurse just gave her something through the IV.

"Told ya that would come in handy." The nurse who's name is Mandy, tells her. The doctor checks over everything and tells her that she is only at six centimeters and that it shouldn't be long. She is told that if she wants to get some rest she can. Phoebe starts to go to sleep for awhile, and the rest of them have a seat and talk for a bit.

**Chapter Six**

**Big Surprise**

Phoebe was able to sleep for about two hours when her nurse comes back in to check her progress. Mandy is waking up her sisters and telling them to get ready, while she goes and gets the doctor cause she's fully efaced.

"You can start pushing anytime you're ready. When you feel that next big contraction, you start pushing." Her doctor tells her. Piper is on one side of her, Prue is on the other, and Paige is up by her head. They had said that only two of them could be in there, but Phoebe gave them all an ear full until they agreed to let all three of them be there.

"Come on Phoebe you can do this. Push again." Piper tells her.

"Piper, I am pushing. Leave me alone." Phoebe replies.

"Hey, calm down now. You've got this. I know you're not a quitter." Prue tells her. Phoebe keeps pushing and nearly passing out cause she's holding the pushes too long and Paige keeps rubbing her back near her lungs so she doesn't pass out on them. Every once in awhile, they will tell her to stop for a few seconds to catch her breath. Once Phoebe regains her composure, she finally has a girl. The doctor holds her up, and both Phoebe and Prue are the first ones to cry. Prue never thought that she would be around to see any of her sisters become Moms, but here she was, looking at her little neice.

"Congratulations Mommy. Here she is. Welcome little cutie pie." The doctor says, as he hands her to Phoebe. Just as the doctor and the nurses are getting ready to start the cleanup, and Piper, Paige, and Prue, are all hugging Phoebe and Tracy, Phoebe starts having even more trouble.

"What's going on? Piper? Prue, Paige? There's something wrong." Phoebe says, starting to worry when the doctor tells them for one of them to take the baby and get ready again.

"What are you saying?" Paige asks him.

"I'm saying that your sister had two of them in here." The doctor replies, just as Phoebe automatically starts pushing again before the doctor is even ready. Within maybe four pushes, Phoebe has a boy. She reaches out for him, knowing that now, Cole can live on through not only their daughter, but their son.

"I'll be damned. Pheebes, how did that happen? Everytime you went for a check up, they only seen one right?" Piper asks.

"Well Ms. Halliwell, it's like this. Sometimes a woman who's pregnant will have what you call, a hidden twin. Apparently she was carrying twins, and the boy was always hiding behind his sister. It's not really uncommon. So, congratulations once again." The doctor tells her. Phoebe is just grinning from ear to ear, even though she feels like hell.

"You've got her named. What about him? What's his name?" Prue asks, while holding Tracy and patting her diaper to settle her down. Phoebe takes him from the nurse and thinks for a minute before she answers.

"Ya know? With twins you either gotta keep their names to where they sound the same, or start with the same letter. I think his name is gonna be Timothy Cole. I have a Tracy Cheyenne, and a Timothy Cole. And now, I'm gonna get them fed and asleep, and then I'm gonna snooze for awhile, like maybe the rest of the day or something." Phoebe replies. Prue hands Tracy back to her and everyone clears out for awhile to give Phoebe and her babies, time to get to know each other.

Later on that night, Prue lightly knocks on the door to Phoebe's room, and when Phoebe gets up to let her in, Prue is shocked that she's up and walking already.

"Hey, come on in. Quiet though. I just got them to sleep." Phoebe tells her as they go in and sit down to relax.

"Are you doing okay?" Prue asks, while moving the blanket away from Tracy's face.

"She keeps pulling it up to her face and head. You're not going to get her to stop doing that. I've been trying all night. Yeah, I'm doing great. Motherhood suits me you could say." Phoebe replies. She sits back on the bed and it takes her forever to get comfortable again.

"I didn't mean with labor and delivery Pheebes. I meant with them not having their Daddy here. Are you doing okay so far with that?" Prue says, when she can see that Phoebe's having trouble with getting situated comfortably. She goes over and helps her then says what she came there to say.

"Listen Phoebe. I know that the deal said if all magic was gone, and the demons too, then we could all be together. But, you and Cole will never be able to see each other again, and now he's gone for good. He'll never to be able to see his children as long as I'm back." Prue tells her.

"Prue, don't you dare say what I think you're fixing to say. I'll find someone to be with. Relationships come and go, but family is forever. He was not my family, he was just my boyfriend. You're my sister, and you're staying here as far as I'm concerned. Yes, it's gonna hurt for quite awhile that he is not here to see Tracy and Timothy, but ya know what? He was not here to ever put his hand on my belly and talk to them. They don't know anything about what his voice sounds like, or what his touch feels like, or anything. I'm fine with him being gone. I really am. I have these two to remember him by. If you was still gone, the only thing I would to remember you by, is a bedroom full of stuff. Please, stay here with us. I'm begging you Pruedence." Phoebe says, pouring her heart out to her and Prue knows that whenever Piper or Phoebe call her by her full name, they are serious. Prue sits on the bed by her, throws her arms around her, and whispers in her ear, "I'll stay here. I promise. For however long you want me around, I'll stay. I'm here Pheebes. I ain't going anywhere."

**Chapter Seven**

**Aunt Paige's Surprise**

When Tracy and Timothy are now eight years old, Piper and Leo have already had Wyatt and Chris. Paige found the love of her life named Henry, and they have only the twin girls so far. Prue has even been able to finally move on from Andy being gone, and she too has found love with the man she ran into at Buckland's the day she went back to work there. She and Maxwell are expecting their first boy finally. It's a Monday morning and Phoebe and her now, new husband are trying to get the kids up for school. Wyatt is six and Chris is four, so when Piper and Leo go to work everyday, they take him to daycare while Wyatt is in the first grade. Paige's girls are five and in Kindergarten.

"Tim, Tracy, Wyatt, Amber and Abigail, move it along guys." Phoebe is calling through the hallway. Prue runs past her to the bathroom and just about knocks her over cause morning sickness is coming around again for victory.

"Sorry Pheebes." Prue says, making it into the bathroom just in time. Phoebe is only smiling cause she understands and remembers those mornings all too well. Tim and Tracy slowly make their way out of their rooms, and Wyatt is taking his time about getting ready.

"I don't want to." Wyatt says through the door.

"Wyatt Matthew Halliwell, move your butt boy. Your Aunt Phoebe told you to get a move on, now do it. You have school just like everyone else today." Leo says, coming out of the bedroom with Piper behind him, and she's heading into Wyatt and Chris's room. They finally get all of the kids that are school age, at the table in the kitchen for breakfast when Prue comes down to join them.

"Hey, where's Maxwell? I have something I have to ask him before everyone heads out this morning." Phoebe's husband Cooper, asks while he gets some coffee. He and Phoebe met when the kids were maybe four months old, and they fell for each other instantly. As soon as Timothy and Tracy could talk, they started calling him Daddy, so just as Phoebe figured, they know, no difference.

"He should be down here any minute. He and I have a big meeting today at Buckland's and the boss is on both of our asses. I can't imagine why either." Prue replies, slowly drinking her coffee and Paige offers her a plate, which she declines.

"Honey ya need to eat something. You really do." Piper tells her. Prue only shakes her head and says, "I promise, I'll be fine by my lunch hour. I'll eat then."

"Hey everyone. Guess what? I have talked to all of the adults last night while you all were in bed, and they have decided to let me get something for all of us. You kids will love it." Paige tells them.

"What Aunt Paige? What is it? What is it?" Timothy and Tracy ask, and it only gets Wyatt and Chris in on it too.

"Yeah Mom, what are you getting?" Amber asks.

"Okay, let's put it this way. You can either jump into it, or use the steps, or the ladder. It's three feet when you get in, then there's a ramp that goes into five feet. It's a great way to beat the heat and cool off, and have a summertime party, and it makes a great family hangout area. Everyone think about the clues, then when you think you got it, raise your hand and let me know what your answer is." Paige tells them. Piper, Prue, and Phoebe are all standing by the sink watching the kids try to figure out the clues when Tracy jumps out of her seat and says, "I got it I got it! Is it a" and Paige stops her and says, "Shh, raise your hand Trace." calling her by a nickname. Instantly, that hand goes up and Paige tells her, "Okay. Tell me your answer."

"Is it a pool?" Tracy asks, and the other kids are already buzzing with excitement, and jumping around the kitchen.

"Hey! Calm down now, yes it is a pool. I'm going today on my lunch hour to take a look. All of your guys's Moms are going too." Paige tells them, and they automatically start up a conversation about what they are gonna do first with the pool.

"Okay, everyone. If you are all done with breakfast, put your plates in the sink and go pile in the car. It's about time to head out." Piper announces, and they all scramble and head for Prue's jeep. She always takes them to school in the morning cause the school is on her way to work.

"We're getting a pool, we're getting a pool, yes! I can't wait! Abigail exclaims with excitement, and the rest of them get to going again.

"Nice one Paige. Now that will be the only thing they all think about in school today when they are supposed to be listening. Way to go you goof ball." Prue says, as she playfully smacks her shoulder. Prue tells everyone bye and she loves them, then they all take off and start their day.

Paige is getting ready for her lunch break, and she calls Phoebe, Piper, and Prue, to see if they will be joining her across town at the pool shop. They all tell her to head that way cause they are going to be there soon. Paige announces to her boss that she will be back after her lunch, and he just hollers back, "Have a good one. Drive safe, traffic's nuts today."

Three weeks later, Paige is paying the pool man after he puts the finishing touches on their new addition to the yard and back patio / cookout area that Leo and Cole just had to have put out there, before Cole had to leave. The man tells her to just make sure that when everyone gets in to swim, that they mix up the chemicals really good.

"Is everything in there that should be by now? I mean, it is ready to get into right?" Paige asks, doing the whole 'safety first' thing.

"Oh yeah. Of course, it's good to go. I just know how kids are with pools. The wife had me to put one in last year for our kids, and once it was swim ready, I tossed them in there and had them to mix up everything really good. It saves time, and none of the chemicals are going to hurt them. It might be a little cool today though, so just use your own judgement." The man tells her.

"Let the sun hit it for a couple of days so the water's not freezing right?" Paige replies, sticking her hand in and jerking it back out.

"Mmm, something like that. My kids though, they jumped right in after school and they said it was fine. This is California so it might get warm enough to be ready by this evening. Have a good one Maam, I gotta get going here. I have three other places to hit today before five." He says, while she signs the papers and then hands him the first payment. Paige thanks him and once he's gone, she starts setting up the patio around the pool and checking to make sure all the chairs are out there and where they need to be, then she checks the grill knowing that the men will cook out that weekend. She gets done with everything, grabs a book, sits in one of the patio chairs, and tries to read by the pool for awhile but, the water running through everything sounds so calming, it puts her to sleep.

The weekend rolls around and just as Paige is pulling in from work, Prue comes in with the kids. She tells them to start on their homework and she notices that Tracy isn't acting like herself. She knows her all to well that if she wants anyone to know anything, she'll tell them. Prue figures it's nothing too bad, so she just sets to work on getting everything out for the cookout. only Tracy and Timothy had homework, being in the third grade, and it took them maybe ten minutes to get it done.

"Trace, are you sure that you're okay honey?" Prue asks, coming back into the dining room and seeing her with her chin on her folded arms, across the table.

"I'm okay Aunt Prue. I'm just tired is all. Since my homework is done, could I maybe go and lay down for awhile until Mom gets home?" Tracy replies, not even hardly moving around in the chair like she usually does.

"Sure sweetie, that's fine. What would you like for supper tonight? Anything special? Your Dad, and uncles are cooking out tonight around the pool and if you don't like they are gonna fix, I'll cook you something different." Prue tells her, and she can see that she is pale a little bit.

"Um. I don't even know what they are planning on fixing. I think that maybe, Daddy said something about, hot dogs and hamburgers. Then Mom was picking up potato salad, Aunt Piper was getting everything that goes on the burgers and hot dogs, and then Aunt Paige was supposed to get the drinks, wasn't she?" Tracy says, while wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. She was hoping that Prue didn't notice, but she did.

"Okay. Still, if you want something different, you tell me okay? Go ahead up and lay down for awhile." Prue tells her, and just as soon as Tracy is upstairs and Tim, Wyatt, Amber, and Abigail are in the living room watching cartoons, Prue gets her phone and steps out to call Phoebe.

"You kids stay in that front room and watch cartoons. Don't go anywhere, don't go up and bug Tracy, and don't go outside. I've got to make a phone call. Stay put." Prue tells all of them and they all say, "Okay Aunt Prue." Prue tries calling Phoebe but doesn't get her, so she calls Cooper, and doesn't get any answer with him either. She's about to give up when she thinks to call Piper and Leo.

"Hey Prue. Don't worry, we're heading home from the daycare now. We've got Chris. Did you get everyone else on your way home?" Piper asks, just kidding around cause she knows that Prue could run that whole house and take care of every person living there, as well as hold down a job, and keep up with her social life.

"You know it. Listen, I can't get a hold of Phoebe or Cooper and there's something wrong with Tracy. I don't think it's real severe but she came in and after she got her homework done, she asked if she could go up and lay down for awhile. I told her to go ahead on up. She's a little pale, and she took the back of her hand across her forehead, like I didn't see her do it. She is kinda sweaty too. I don't know if she's running a fever, but I would guess that she maybe is. Hang on. What the heck happened in there! Nuh uh Wyatt, go back in the front room. You're not bothering Tracy. Sorry Piper. Wyatt keeps wanting to go up and bug Trace and I told them all no, and to stay in the front room while I called one of you. They're watching cartoons, but I think something got knocked off the shelf in there, so I gotta go see what's going on." Prue says, talking to both Piper, and getting onto the kids all at the same time.

"Okay. Just keep an eye on Tracy and tell Wyatt to knock it off or he's gonna get it when we get home. We're almost there." Piper tells her, just as Paige finally comes back in from the patio.

When Phoebe and Cooper finally get home, Piper tells them about Tracy and how she's been acting since she was picked up from school. Cooper asks if she's okay, and Prue tells him that she seemed like she was running a fever and she was pale. Phoebe just sits down her purse on the table inside the door, and heads up to check on her.

"Mom? Is Tracy okay?" Tim asks, standing there by the stairs. Phoebe lightly touches his chin and tells him, "I'm gonna go check on her right now honey." Phoebe gets in Tracy's room and she finds her asleep on her bed, laying underneath an old afghan that used to belong to Phoebe. It's a bunch of different squares sewn together. The squares are in a pattern from solid color, multi color, solid color, multi color, and so on. They are all bordered in black then sewn together in black. Phoebe let Tracy use it once, then she never wanted to give it back, so she knew that Grams wouldn't mind, seeing as how she had made it for Phoebe one year when she was fighting the measles. While Phoebe is standing there, looking in on her, she can see that Cole's features are coming out in her.

"Girl, you definately have your father's little feet." Phoebe says, in a whisper, thinking that Tracy didn't hear her, but she did. As Phoebe is about to turn and head back downstairs, she hears, "Hi Mommy." and Tracy is moving around to sit up on her bed. They talk for awhile, and once Tracy convinces her Mom that she's okay, Phoebe checks, and she isn't running a fever anymore, so she lets her go swimming.

**Chapter Eight**

**Charmed Again?**

Everyone at the manor is still puzzled about Tracy and what is going on with her cause every day is something different. One day when she comes home from school, she'll be just fine. She will finish her homework then jump in the pool, another day, she'll come in, do her homework, then go to bed. There's two weeks until Summer Vacation, and while she is at recess one afternoon, the teacher knows there's something wrong, but she doesn't know weather to say anything or not.

"Are you going to call her parents Sam?" Julie Edmonds asks, as they watch Tracy just sit down on the sidewalk of the playground after lunch.

"What good's it gonna do? They've taken her to the doctor and her doctor said there's nothing wrong with her. She was obviously just fighting a small bug that she was able to sleep off on her own. If I knew they would actually find something worth calling about, I would. You know that Julie." Sam tells her. They both have been there at the school for about the same amount of time. Sam started working there one month, then here came Julie the next month. They continue to just keep an eye on her, and when she goes to get back up, she keeps having to grab a hold of her shorts to keep them from falling on her.

Later on that evening, everyone is lounging around the pool when Paige all of a sudden comes out of the water, sneezing so hard that she orbs.

"What the hell?! Why did you do that just now? Where's Prue? Tell me she's okay." Piper says, getting up and running through the house to find Prue perfectly okay in the kitchen.

"What's the matter with you?" Prue asks, seeing that she looks like she has just seen a ghost.

"Paige came up out of the water sneezing so hard that she orbbed." Piper explains.

"Attic?" Prue asks. Piper nods her head and says she'll get Phoebe and Paige.

"Yeah, book of shadows too. We got to try to summon Grams and Mom and see what's going on here, and if you can still be here." Piper replies, fearing the worst that they will try to take her again. Everyone goes up to the attic, and they leave Cooper and Maxwell in charge of the kids, and Leo goes up with them. When they get there, Piper and Phoebe practically dive at the stand where the book usually sits and once they try and say the summoning spell, Penny and Patty appear to them.

"I guess you figured it out didn't you?" Patty asks them.

"Figured out what? You said in order for Prue to be here with us, we had to give up magic and our powers, and our destiny. Why did Paige orb? Is magic and everything back? Does Prue have to leave again? She better not have too. That would mean that the demons and evil and such are back too, not to mention Cole would be back, and be wanting to see his kids, and they are comfortable with Cooper." Piper tells her.

"I know. Here's what you do with Tracy and Timothy. You all sit them down and talk to them. Let them know everything that happened, because magic is back, and you Phoebe, are going to need Cole for something. He's gonna be the one thing that's gonna save Tracy. Trust me. Deal with everything the best that you can. Just do like you did before, and no. Prue doesn't have to leave. There will just be more power of three spells. Of course, there's no power of four spells, and there never has been either." Patty explains the best she can.

"Wait Mom, back up to that part about Tracy and Cole being the only one to save her. What's wrong with her? Is she okay?" Phoebe asks, and she starts to worry.

"You know how she's been acting funny all the time? What you need to do is, stop taking her to a regular doctor. Take her to an oncologist and make them run every test there is on her. I know it sounds farfetched, but there is something wrong with her, and no other doctor is going to find it. Don't worry cause she's young and it's being caught early. When they ask what prompted you to bring her in, just tell them her symptoms and it was a hunch that you had. She has cancer Phoebe. What kind? That, I don't know. You're gonna need Cole to save her though." Patty tells her. Phoebe takes everything in the best she knows how, before just falling to her knees and bawling. Prue gets down on the floor with her and tells her, "There's not much time to mess around apparently. We have to act now. Mom, where's the closest one to here?" Patty tells her, and Penny appologizes for everything over and over again before they finally tell her, "It's okay Grams. It's like you said. You can't fight destiny can ya?"

Three days later, Phoebe, Prue, and Tracy, are all at the oncologists office, and Tracy has about a million different questions, and they try to answer them for her.

"So, let me get this straight. We're all witches? Does that mean, we're bad?" Tracy asks, but she writes it down so no one in the waiting room hears them. When the last lady leaves, Prue answers her and explains everything in full detail.

"No baby. We are anything but evil. We use good magic and fight the bad guys. We have special powers too. Watch this." Prue tells her, and she sets some items from her purse on the floor, and moves her hands really slow to make the objects raise.

"How are you doing that? Can I do it too?" Tracy asks in amazement, and Phoebe tells her that they all each have their own special power. Tracy nods her head and says, "I get it Mom. I understand now, why you all said for us to keep quiet about our powers and our magical secret. Will it make me feel better?"

"Honey. Unfortunately, we'll just have to play this by the rules. No magic will be involved with this. You're gonna have to do what all the doctor says to do. If she tells you that you're going to be staying at the hospital for awhile, you will. If you have to go through any surgeries, you'll have too. I don't want it, your Mom doesn't want this for you. Your Aunt Paige and Aunt Piper don't either. Uncle Leo, Uncle Henry, and Uncle Max, all three said that if you have to go to the hospital for awhile after your appointment today, they will stop by and bring you something." Prue tells her. Tracy starts getting tired again and she lays her head on Prue's shoulder, when Prue takes a hold of her and says, "Come here baby." Prue lays her head on her lap, and Phoebe lays her feet across her, and they let her stretch out and get comfortable, and Prue rubs her back, looks at Phoebe, and mouths the words, "You ought to feel her ribs. She's way too small. This crap is eating her alive." The doctor finally calls them back and orders so much lab work that by the sixth tube they draw on her, Tracy is about to jump up and leave.

"Hold still Trace. They're just about done." Phoebe tells her.

They wait some more and around an hour later, the doctor comes back in and says what she's gonna do.

"She has what's called Hodgkins Lymphoma. It has a very high servival rate. We did catch it early enough. She is only at a stage one. It must have just hit her no more than three months ago. What I would like to do for her is, have you check her in at the hospital where we are gonna start running tests to see where we stand with this thing, and the most importantly, get Chemo started on her, and do the blood platelets and proton replacement therapy. You two go ahead and get her over to Bay Memorial, and I'll be over there after I close up here." The doctor tells them all.

"Am I gonna be okay Doc?" Tracy asks, with a few small tears on her cheeks.

"Oh yeah. You'll be alright. You just have to undergo a few things you're not gonna be the first one. Get her on over there now." The doctor says, talking to Tracy then turning back to Phoebe and Prue. They take her on over to the hospital and get her settled in, then call Piper and Paige, and everyone else at home.

**Chapter Nine**

**You're Not My Dad**

Three weeks into Tracy's treatment, everyone is on their way to see her, and when they get to the hospital, they can't find her.

"Uh excuse me Miss. Where is my daughter? She's not in her room today." Phoebe asks the receptionist.

"Oh honey, she never stays in there. Every time it's time for her to get a nap or go for some more tests, she's never where she should be. We always find her in the cafeteria cheering up the cooks, or she'll be down in the garden, or sometimes she's even with our boss, just walking around here for most of the day. Yesterday, she was roller blading down the hallway. That girl, there ain't nothing wrong with her, they need to let her go home. That's what I think." The lady tells them all.

"She was what? Roller blading down the hallway? Oh Lord, should she be doing that?" Cooper replies.

"Around here, we believe in letting them be kids and let them just cut loose. If they feel up to it, they're gonna get the freedom to do what they want to do. You have to understand sir, this is the children's ward of this hospital, and despite the ailment, kids will be kids." The lady says, and Phoebe thanks her for everything. They head down the hall and when they get near the cafeteria, they can hear laughter coming from inside the kitchen. Phoebe is the first one in and once they are all sitting there waiting for Tracy to leave the cooks alone, the head cook walks out with her and they are playing with the tubes and wires hooked up to Tracy's neck and chest.

"Testing, testing. One two three, hello. Is this thing on?" The cook asks, while holding it up to her mouth then her ear like she's talking into a microphone.

"I hear ya baby, loud and clear. Let's jam." Tracy replies. The cook who's name is Melinda Bryant, gets her cd player out and she puts in Sweet Home Alabama, and they both start to sing into the tubes. Tracy decides to be a little bit goofy, and instead of saying the words, sweet home alabama, she sings, "Sweet Home California. Lord I'm coming home to you, here I come, California." By this time, Phoebe is just losing it in laughter.

"Hey Mom. How are you?" Tracy asks, almost dying laughing again, and it takes her forever to regain her composure so she can visit with her family.

"You must be Melinda. The receptionist told me she comes down here nearly every day to see you and keep you company." Cooper says, shaking her hand.

"Yeah, she's always down here. The reason no one ever eats around here is cause she won't go away. Get her out of here. I'm only kidding. This girl makes coming into work every day worth it. You really should be getting back to your room though Trace. It's getting to be what they call your 'nap time' ya know." Melinda replies, talking to her family, then to Tracy.

"Hey, where's Timothy? Didn't he want to come? Shouldn't Aunt Prue be here too?" Tracy asks, and she's going to the doorway of the cafeteria and looking out into the hallway, and she still can't see Prue or Timothy.

"Honey, they couldn't make it today. Aunt Prue's working and couldn't get away from Buckland's plus, she's been pretty sick with her baby coming in a few months. Aunt Piper has Timothy today. She's got him doing some yard work. He wanted to go to his friend's house and we told him that he had to help Aunt Piper today if he wanted to do that." Phoebe tells her, and they meet Paige in the hallway, and she has a bag for Tracy.

"Aunt Paige! You was able to make it to see me." Tracy says, hugging her for the longest time.

"Of course. Here, I got ya something at the gift shop." Paige replies. Tracy takes the bag and pulls out a big pink bunny rabbit. She knew how much she likes those. Tracy says how much she loves her bunny, and then they all head up to her room to visit for a bit when the doctor comes in and tells her some good news, that she's been waiting to hear for three weeks.

"Hey you. How would you feel about going home for awhile? Ah. Don't get too excited now. I've been planning this for you for awhile. Your numbers are good, you have loads of energy, and everything seems to be going good enough now where you can take a break from hospital life, and get back to being a kid during your Summer Vacation from school." The doctor says, while looking over her chart.

"Mom. Was you all in on this today?" Tracy asks. Phoebe is just holding her sun glasses by her mouth and smiling while nodding her head, and she says, "Yep. We sure were. We knew you was going home today for awhile. She called this morning." Tracy tries to get up and pack up everything when Phoebe and Paige stop her, and say they will get everything together, and for her to just lie back and relax.

That evening, they are finally getting home and just as Tracy walks inside, she sees the new kittens that they had just gotten a couple of days before she got to come home for awhile.

"Hi kitties. Oh you sweet little things. Come see me, I'm home. Which one of you wants to be my kitty?" Tracy says, while setting her backpack full of games and activities down by the door. She sits on the floor to play with them and a solid black kitten with peircing blue eyes, jumps in her lap and meows and purrs at her. He starts playing with the tubes that she is still wearing for cell harvesting and Prue gets him off of her.

"I told Mom that if any cats or kittens around the neighborhood seen me with these, they would love them and play with them." Tracy tells her, and she takes the kitten back. She says that's the one she wants for her kitty and she names him Willie.

"That's too cute. I like that name for him Trace. How about you and Willie go on up and get some rest before supper. Uncle Leo said on the phone that it's gonna be done in about an hour." Cooper says, while getting her off the floor, and Willie is already hooked on her. He hisses at Cooper, thinking that he is going to hurt Tracy and it's his job to protect her.

"Calm down Wee Willie. It's okay. I think I will go and try to lay down for a bit. Aunt Prue, can you and Mom help me please? It's really uncomfortable with these darn tubes just hanging there. They showed me how long they are inside too. They're about ten inches long, and they go all the way down through my neck, and into a heart valve, near my lungs." Tracy tells them. They both go up and get her as comfortable as they can, where she is not laying all the way flat like she likes to, but nearly that way.

"Pheebes, we need to make sure that the line doesn't get pinched in any way or it could start bleeding on her. Here, try this pillow. It's a little flatter. You want to keep her neck as straight as possible." Prue says, while looking at different pillows and trying to pick the one that would be best for her. They make sure she is good to go, and that the tube line isn't pinched, and once they look at Tracy one more time and see that she is out cold, they head back downstairs. Prue goes to cover her up, and Phoebe whispers, "No wait. She likes this one the best. I know that Grams wouldn't mind if I just give it to her for her to keep. It's gotten me through whenever I didn't feel very good. It's hers." When they get downstairs, they all go ahead and get ready for supper, and they put some back for Tracy. Phoebe has no idea what the rest of the night is going to bring.

It's just after 9:30, and while Piper is helping Phoebe give Tracy a sponge bath, and into some warm cozy, cotton pajamas, she's laying on her bed talking to the both of them, when they hear the doorbell. There haven't been any demon attacks for awhile since Tracy has been sick. The seer had came and told them that as long as there was a child fighting cancer, she wasn't going to let anyone evil, near the manor. Prue hollers up that she's got it, and when she answers the door, Cole is standing there.

"Nice to see ya Prue. What's going on here? I thought that I had to stay gone, but apparently magic is back, so that means, I can come back too. Can I come in?" Cole tells her. She lets him in and then calls up for Phoebe. Cooper and Maxwell have done been told about the whole magical industry, and even though it was a lot for them to take in, they both stuck around. They told both Phoebe and Prue, that no matter what, they loved them and they weren't going anywhere. Phoebe tells Tracy that she'll be right back, and when she gets downstairs, she can feel her heart sink to the floor. She gets Cooper, and they all sit in the living room to talk for awhile.

"You mean to tell me, that I have twins? A boy, and a girl?" Cole asks, and he starts to smile.

"Yeah, but here's the thing. Tracy, my, or our girl, she has Hodgkins Lymphoma Cole. That's cancer. Grams and Mom said they need to bring magic back, to save her life. They didn't tell me what kind she had, just that she had cancer, and that you was going to be the one to save her life. I know that I probably don't need to ask you, but" Phoebe starts to explain, when Cole says, "It's done. Tell me what that girl needs, and it's hers. Does she need bone marrow, blood platelets, proton replacement, what?" Tracy manages to make her way downstairs to get something to drink. Once she got off of the bed, she was fine. She gets to the living room, and she can hear Cole talking to everyone in there. She stops in to say hello, and when Cole sees her, he almost loses it.

"Hey there pretty girl. Your Mom told me what's been going on with you. I'm really sorry to hear that for you." Cole tells her.

"Eh, what are ya gonna do right? It comes, it comes. Ya gotta deal with it the best you can and go on. Who are you?" Tracy replies, and she almost sits down right on top of Prue again.

"She does that a lot huh?" Cole asks, almost laughing.

"Yep. She's told me that I'm her favorite Aunt." Prue tells him. They decide to finally tell Tracy what's going on, and they get Timothy downstairs too.

"Mom, Dad, I was playing a game." Timothy complains.

"Boy. That can wait. I want you two to meet someone. Really meet someone. Tim, Trace, this is Cole Turner." Phoebe tells them, and Tim says, "Hey, his first name is the same as my middle name. That's neat."

"Guys, there's no easy way to say this, so I'm gonna say it straight out. When magic was gone for awhile to get your Aunt Prue back, you guys have been told about that already. The part you was not told about is, Cole is your Dad. Your real Father. Cooper and I got together when you two were only four months old. He's been your Dad ever since. Cole gave you life, and Cooper raised ya. Cole had to leave cause of him, at the time being half demon half human. He's all 100 percent, human now. He is your Father, and he wants to be able to see you guys." Phoebe tells them. Timothy seems okay with it, but Tracy sits there looking around like she's gonna pass out.

"Tracy, are you okay?" Piper asks her.

"You're not my Dad. My Dad is sitting right there by my Mom. I'm going to bed." Tracy replies, and she has to get Willie again since he followed her downstairs.

"What do we do now Phoebe?" Cooper asks.

"I uh, I don't know. They have the exact blood type. They're perfect matches. If she needs any blood transfusions later on, he'll be the one that has to donate and give to her. Just let her come around on her own." Phoebe replies.

"You know whatever that girl needs, she has it." Cole says, getting up to leave for the night. Piper and Leo stop him before he gets out the door, and Leo tells him, "Don't leave. You might as well stay here tonight. We have an extra room, and in the morning, we'll see how Tracy feels then. She's been through a lot in the last month and a half. She just got home today for awhile to see how she does. Hang out here tonight, and we'll take another crack at it tomorrow."

"Thanks Leo." Cole tells him. They show him where his room for the night is, and then everyone else gets ready for bed. Phoebe of course had to stay the night in Tracy's room cause Tracy didn't want to be by herself, the first night home. Also, Phoebe had decided to stay in there with her for the night since she was starting to look bad all over again.

Three days later, Cole is still at the house when Tracy comes downstairs in the morning and she's singing her favorite song by "Firehouse" which is "Unbelieveable" and she's making her way out to the pool. She can't get her tubes wet, but Phoebe had called the hospital to see if there was a way that if they could cover the whole thing and keep it dry and she was careful, if she could swim a little bit. They told her how to do it with plastic wrap and medical tape. Tracy walks through the living room singing, and Cole joins her on the part that says, "Your kiss, your smile, you're unbelieveable." Tracy stops in her tracks, looks at him, and smiles.

"You know that song too huh?" Tracy asks, and she sits down for a couple of minutes across from him.

"It's my favorite song of "Firehouse." You're Mom told me that you are always listening to it." Cole tells her, and Tracy nods her head in agreement, and says, "Yeah. I am. I'm headed out to the pool. Ya know how to swim? You can join me if ya want." Cole accepts her offer and tells her that she would be amazed how well he can swim. Phoebe is looking all over for her and when she hears laughter outside, she sticks her head out to see where it's coming from, and she can see that Tracy is finally giving Cole a little more than just the time of day.

**Chapter Ten**

**Is It All Over With Yet**

Tracy would have been able to have her harvesting tubes removed within a 24 hour period, but she wasn't harvesting as much or as quickly as she should have been, so she had them in for over a week. It's a Wednesday morning, and when she gets up, she notices a few small blood stains on her pillow. She starts panicing and gets up out of bed to go into the bathroom. She looks in the mirror and all she sees on her neck where the catheter has been inserted, is red gauze under the tape. She runs downstairs and runs right into Cole. Without even giving it another thought, she says, "Dad, where's Mom" Cole is shocked to hear her say that, but goes along with it.

"She's right in the kitchen. Is everything okay? What happened?" Cole tells her and he can see how bad her neck looks. Phoebe comes out into the foyer where they are at, and asks what's going on. Tracy shows her the shape that her neck is in, and Phoebe tells her not to panic, and that she will call her oncologist for instructions. Phoebe motions to Cole to take Tracy in the kitchen and get her something to eat or at least something to drink. He can see that she clearly isn't feeling very good and when he tells her, "Come on in here with me while she calls her.", Tracy puts her arms out and reaches up for him. He picks her up and she lays her head on his shoulder, and he takes her into the kitchen.

The doctor had told Phoebe to bring her back to the hospital so they could just take out the catheter which Tracy was overjoyed to be rid of it. Cooper is at work, so Cole being hers and Tim's real Father, asks if he can go too. Phoebe asks Tracy and she says she doesn't care if he goes along.

While they are at the hospital, it's like Tracy has made a full 360 degree turn around with Cole, and she's telling everyone who he is. The nurse has her laying as flat as she can get her, and she tells her since the tape is off, to take in a deep breath for a second or two.

"Okay. When I tell you, push that breath out as hard as you can blow. Ready? One two three, blow it out." The nurse says, and all Phoebe could hear from Tracy was a big gush of air. She looks at the catheter that was once in her chest and heart valve, and says, "Oh my Lord. That thing is huge."

"You okay hon?" Cole asks her.

"Yeah. I'm okay Dad. It just kind of pulled the skin around my neck a little ya know. Am I done yet? Can I go home now?" Tracy replies, then she asks the nurse about leaving. The doctor comes in and tells her some not so happy news.

"Honey, I would love to let you go home. I really would but, you can't just yet. I have to run some more tests on you. I need to see how many cells have been harvested, not to mention, I need to check your blood count. You look a little pale again, and you may need a transfusion. Hang around for a few minutes and get comfortable." The doctor tells her. The doctor heads out to let the nurse know what has been ordered, and they all wait for what seems like forever. Cole is sitting there on the bed by Tracy, and he has her laughing like Phoebe has never heard her laugh before. He's cracking jokes and making her laugh so hard that she can't even sit up straight. The nurse comes in to run some labs, and she even starts laughing, and she doesn't even know what they are all laughing at.

"Okay honey. I need for you to calm down for a few minutes okay." The nurse says, and Tracy just pulls a pillow to her face for a couple of seconds, and then she seems to be okay. By this time, Tracy has been stuck so many times, that it doesn't even phase her anymore.

"Dad, this here that she's doing will show my CBC. That's short for complete blood count. It checks to see if my levels are too high, too low, or just right in the middle." Tracy tells him.

"Oh is that right now?" Cole asks, just taking everything in.

"Yeah, and the proton replacement therapy will get me out of here permantly a lot sooner than I would without it." Tracy replies, and the nurse tells her to settle down so she can finish up with everything. The nurse gets done and lets her relax for awhile, then asks Cole if he could go with her for a minute. Cole walks out in the hall and the nurse delivers a message from the doctor, telling Cole that there is a shortage of the blood type that Tracy is. Cole asks if there's anything he can do and the nurse tells him, the only thing they can do is for him to get his blood type tested to see if it matches Tracy's for the transfusion, just in case if she needs one. Cole lets her know that he will be on stand by if it comes to anything that drastic.

Tracy only had to wait for about twenty minutes, and Cole went ahead and gave blood to be on the safe side. A nurse comes in and tells her that she is going to need a transfusion, so she goes ahead and gets her hooked up and ready to go. The nurse explains that the transfusion will take at least a couple of hours, and then she might get to go home. Phoebe calls home to tell them all what's going on with Tracy and Prue offers to bring her some clothes. Phoebe tells her to just hold off for a bit cause she's not real sure if she'll have to stay or not. They get the transfusion started, and once it starts, Tracy starts getting cold. Phoebe puts about three blankets on her, and she goes right to sleep until it's over so they can take her home.

Around the time that Prue has her first baby, Tracy has pretty well calmed down with having to be taken to the hospital so much. She is getting dressed one morning to go for a walk, and she had not been looking in the mirror ever since she started losing her hair. This morning however, is different for her. She walks into her bathroom and quietly tells herself, "Today's the day. Gotta do it." She looks in the mirror, sees that all of her hair is gone, puts her hands up to her face, and the tears just roll. She goes back into her room to get ready for her walk, and without even thinking twice about it, she puts her back to the wall, slides down to the floor, and with her knees bent, she wraps her arms around her legs and lays her chin on her arms while she cries for a few minutes. She's so stubborn and just like her Mother that she won't let anyone know when there's something wrong or when she needs to talk or whatever. Cole has already showed up to go walking with her, and Leo lets him in where the game is on.

"Hey. Who's ahead?" Cole asks, sitting in the chair.

"Well, damn sure not the California Angels. They are severely sucking this year. Tracy hasn't came down yet. I heard her moving around up there though." Leo tells him.

"Oh that's okay. We have plenty of time. I do need to tell her and Phoebe some good news though. I don't know if magic is here for the rest of you or not, but I have no powers or anything. I'm just me. It feels great to be a regular person too, let me tell ya." Cole replies. Tracy finally makes her way downstairs and even though she is trying to hide it, everyone can see she's been crying. Cole has her to close her eyes, and he pulls a green hat out of a bag and sits it on Tracy's head for her.

"Told ya I would get ya something. Are you ready to go?" Cole says, and Tracy gets a big smile on her face. They take off for their walk, and spend most of the day together.

**Chapter Eleven**

**End Of The Road**

Prue has had the baby which was a little girl. She named her Penelope after Grams. Tracy and Timothy are now thirteen. Tracy has been through five years of Chemo treatments, hospital stays, proton replacement therapy, blood platelets, and just when they think that everything is over with, and while Prue has had another baby that was a boy named Marshall, here comes Tracy walking through the door, home early from school. Prue's four year old Penelope, is in Preschool and Marshall is taking a nap in his playpen, and quiet for once.

"I didn't think school would be over so quick. Where is everyone else at?" Prue asks, while laying a blanket over Marshall.

"They aren't here. I was sent home early. I'm sick again. I had thought that everything was over with, but I guess not." Tracy replies. She slips her shoes off, and nearly lays in the chair. She and Timothy have just turned thirteen, and they should be doing the normal things that teenagers do, but Tracy knows in her heart, that that is just not going to happen anytime soon. One of the school staff brought her home, and told her to let someone know what was going on with her. Prue puts her hand on Tracy's forehead, and sighs loud enough to wake Marshall up.

"Oh damn it boy. I just got you to sleep. Tracy, don't go anywhere. I need to call you Mom. She should be on her lunch break by now." Prue says, while trying to get Marshall to calm down and Tracy gets up, picks him up, puts him on her chest, and lays down on the couch with him, and he shuts right up.

"I'll be damned. He won't do that with me. Hey Pheebes, when you get this message, you need to call me or come home one. Trace is home from school early. She had been doing good for awhile, but she's sick again, and burning up just like before. I don't know if there's any cause for worry, but she is home. Love ya, and call me when you get this." Prue says, first talking to Tracy about Marshall, then having to leave a voicemail on Phoebe's phone. She returns to the living room where she finds Marshall curled up on his favorite cousin's chest. She smiles at the sight of them and just covers them up with a little throw blanket that they keep on the back of the couch. Penelope comes bouncing down the stairs and being noisy again.

"Mommy, I'm hungry." She announces, while rounding the corner to the kitchen.

"Okay. Shh, you need to be quiet baby. Tracy is home early and she's sick again. Plus, bubby just got settled down for his nap. What do you want to eat? How about Ravioli? Sound good?" Prue replies, while lifting her in what she calls, "Her chair."

"Um. Yeah. That will work. What's wrong with Tracy? Her Cancer back?" Penny, who is way smarter than any of them give her any credit for, asks.

"I hope not baby. God, I hope not. She's been through enough for the past five years." Prue tells her, while opening her Ravioli for her and sticking it in the microwave.

"No! Not there. Aunt Piper and Tracy cook it on the stove. You're doing it wrong Mommy." Penny tells her and Prue just puts her hands up to her head and says, "My God, they have you spoiled ass rotten. Okay. I'll do it like they do." Prue gets to work on fixing Penny's lunch when the front door flies open and it's Phoebe running into the foyer and hollering for Prue. It wakes up Marshall, but Tracy takes care of him.

"Aunt Phoebe!" Penny exclaims, running up to her and Phoebe picks her up, swings her onto her hip, and goes to talk to Prue.

"What's going on? I got your message. Is she okay?" Phoebe asks, with Penny still on her hip.

"Right now she's asleep. Marshall got to crying again, and once she picked him up and got him quiet, she layed down on the couch with him. She just came in early and said that they sent her home cause she was sick to her stomach and running a fever. I felt of her, and she is for sure burning up. I didn't want to call the EMS on her cause Penny and Marshall are so attached to her, it would have only freaked them out. Plus, I figured she would want to talk to you about her plan of care before anything was decided." Prue explains while getting Penny to sit down to eat. Prue gets her lunch for her and Phoebe goes to check on Tracy who is now, sitting on the edge of the couch with her head in her hands, and she's shaking.

"Tracy? Tracy, talk to me. What's the matter baby? Are you okay?" Phoebe asks, sitting next to her and lightly patting her back. Tracy just nods her head and the first thing out of her mouth is, "I want Dad. Where is he?"

"He's still at work honey. Do you want me to call him?" Phoebe replies, while Tracy just leans back on the couch. Tracy nods her head and tells her to go ahead and call him. Phoebe calls Cooper, then Cole, to make sure she got the right one. Once she gets a hold of the both of them and lets them know what's going on, she tells Tracy to just stay put for a minute or two.

"Prue! Would you watch her for a few minutes? I'm gonna run up and get her some clothes. I already know they're probably gonna keep her this time." Phoebe hollers into the kitchen.

"Sure thing." Prue calls back. Phoebe goes and gets an overnight bag containing the following items. Tooth brush, tooth paste, shampoo, conditioner, (Since her hair has grown back.) Pajamas, house shoes, a couple of books to read, and her cell phone and charger. She even packed an outfit for her to come home in. Piper comes in from the club and finds Tracy on the couch and asks what's going on.

"Are you okay honey?" Piper asks her.

"She's going back to the hospital. I don't know who all wants to go, or who's gonna show up later, but I will call you all as soon as we find out what's going on. I do need someone to be with me." Phoebe tells her. Without even giving it another thought, Piper says, "I'll go. Come on. I'll call Leo on the way there and tell him what's going on, and that he is to stay with the kids."

At the hospital, as soon as they seen how bad Tracy looked, they didn't worry about a question and answer period or registering or anything. A nurse just called Tracy's Oncologist, and they wisked her up to a room and started asking Phoebe if she had ate anything recently.

"Just breakfast this morning. Why?" Phoebe asks.

"We're taking her into surgery now. I checked her, and there is another knot on her neck. We may be starting this all over again with her. For now, call in as many family members as you can. I got to get her prepped and ready for surgery." The doctor tells her. Phoebe, instead of losing it, calls everyone and Piper calls the school for her to let them know what's going on too.

"How are you not losing your mind right now sweetie?" Piper asks Phoebe.

"I'm used to all of this by now you might say. I figure, it's like this. You be strong for your children and keep it together so you can take charge of the situation, or you completely lose it, go crazy and cry kick, and scream, and lose your children in the process. Piper. It doesn't pay to lose it. When push comes to shove, you gotta find the inner strenght to do what needs to be done. It's that simple." Phoebe replies, and Piper just grabs her and hugs her, and tells her, "You have no damn idea, just how proud I am of you for being as strong as you are."

After about two hours of waiting and wondering, the doctor comes out with a big grin on her face.

"I think you will be very happy to know, that she is just fine. The knot was Lymphoma trying to come back. We got her started on another round of Chemo though, just in case. The knot is gone, she did great during surgery, the Cancer is gone. Her vitals are good so far, and she did wonderfully with the surgery. She's in recovery now, and she'll be in there for about half an hour to an hour. They have to get her to wake up and monitor her in there before you get her back." The doctor tells her.

"So, when can I see her?" Phoebe asks.

"Not until she's back in her room. She is doing just fine though. I only had to make a cut about this long." The doctor says, and she shows with her fingers, a five inch long cut, that was made near Tracy's shoulder. The knot was the size of a golf ball, that she was somehow able to hide.

"Will she be going home anytime soon?" Piper asks.

"If she continues to do as good as she is now, she'll be going home this evening." The doctor replies, and then she has to get back to check on other patients.

"Thank God. She's gonna be okay. She's going home, and the Cancer is gone." Phoebe says to no one in particular. The nurse takes Phoebe to Tracy's room and tells her to just wait there for her until she comes in from recovery.

While they are waiting, Phoebe is going up and down the hall trying to figure out which door is the recovery room door. She finally finds it, and stands outside it since they told her she was not allowed in there with Tracy. The door opens and Phoebe does stick her head inside where Tracy can see her. Phoebe can see that she looks half dead, and doesn't look like herself. She's all hooked up to different stuff, and wrapped up in bandages.

"Get off of me. Easy with the bumps damn it." Tracy tells the nurse that's driving her bed.

"Who are you?" The nurse asks Phoebe.

"I'm her Mother. Be careful with her. She asked you once to be easy." Phoebe replies.

"It's not easy driving these beds. I know what I'm doing maam." The lady argues.

"Like hell you do. I could drive it better than you are." Phoebe snaps, and Prue who has been there for about half an hour says, "Pheebes. Easy." The nurse that is over the outpatient surgery care floor, takes over with Tracy. The one nurse that started taking her to her room, smacks her bed up against the wall, and they hear Tracy tell her, "Damn you! I said to be freaking easy and watch it. Ya damn dummy!"

"I didn't mean to ya know. Sorry." The lady tells her, and the main nurse takes a hold of the bed rail, looks at the one nurse, and says, "Get out of here."

"Okay honey. I need to check a couple of things for ya okay. Can I do that for you?" The nurse who's name is Bethany, asks her.

"Yeah, just please. Be careful. That woman was drunk or something. She ought to be dragged out and shot." Tracy replies.

"Trace. Calm down honey." Prue says, and Tracy is trying to raise her head up, but it falls right back to where she's laying flat again. Phoebe can see a machine there on the bed by her, and she asks what it is. Bethany tells her that it's a new machine that was just made a few years prior to Tracy using it. It's called a polar ice cube. They tell her that it has two lines in it. The first one is for water, and is maybe three inches deep, the other line is for ice, and it plugs into the wall and stays colder, longer than a regular ice pack that goes in the freezer.

"What's that for though?" Piper asks.

"Her doctor said for her to keep that on for a few days to keep inflamation and swelling down. She said that if her wound gets too infected, that shoulder area is going to get way to swollen and it will bust those stitches." Bethany replies, and they hear Tracy keep asking for her water. Phoebe hands it to her, then she pushes it away, then asks for it, then pushes it away.

"Is she doing that on purpose or can't she make up her mind?" Prue asks the nurse.

"She's just had to much anesthesia probably. Tracy. Tracy hon, I need you to tell me your birthday and age, and what grade you're in." The nurse tells her.

"Birthday is, uh. Um it's, 10/ 17/ 2001. I'm 13, and in the 11th grade." Tracy says, getting her grade wrong.

"Well, she was doing good until she said the eleventh grade. I'm really supposed to keep her as long as an hour after she comes out of recovery. She needs to meet recovery criteria and standards, before I let her go. I'll come back and check on her here in a few minutes." Bethany tells them all. Even though Tracy's pain level is about a ten, and that being the highest number on the pain scale, she tells her nurse that it's about a three or four, just so she can go home. Prue and Phoebe are talking while Tracy sleeps off some of her pain and Phoebe keeps telling her how sorry she is that this is what she came back to.

"Pheebes. She is family. You are all. I don't care what member of my family, has something going on with them, or what it may be that they are going through. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere again anytime soon. It's not a problem. I'm glad to be here and to be able to help with whatever any of you, may need." Prue tells her. The nurse comes back in to scan Tracy's hospital bracelet, and check her IV and everything, and she can see that she's trying to reach up and take the ice pack thing off of her neck and shoulder where the knot was removed. After about ten more minutes, and Tracy is finally able to talk, the nurse tells them she is able to go home since there is no more Cancer anywhere in her body.

"The thing you guys need to do now is, just take her home and get her through recovery from this surgery. She's good to go and I can see she has an awesome support system." Bethany says, while she prepares to take out the IV. Once Tracy's IV is out, and the ice thing is removed, they get her dressed, in the chair, and take her out to the car.

They get nearly ten minutes away from the house, and all of the curves in the road, start to affect Tracy.

"I'm hungry Mom." Tracy tells her from the back of Prue's jeep.

"I imagine you probably are. You usually have supper before this time of night, and your surgery was well over two hours. I'd say you are getting hungry honey." Phoebe replies. All of the other kids are at the house with the men and Paige. Paige had said she would get the place cleaned up and steril before they brought Tracy home. Just as Phoebe is trying to get comfortable too, Tracy sits up and points to her mouth and signals for the jeep to be pulled over.

"What? You're sick aren't ya?" Phoebe asks. Tracy nods her head yes, and it goes everywhere. She got sick all over the door, the floorboard, her clothes, the sling the hospital put her in so she couldn't move her neck and shoulder much for about a week. She is sick at least twice.

"I'm sorry about your floor Aunt Prue." Tracy tells her.

"Don't worry about it. It'll clean up. Are you okay?" Prue replies, getting out to help Piper and Phoebe clean her up. She nods her head and just sits there for a minute.

"Do you need anything like a sprite or 7 up for your stomach? Or, do you just want to go home?" Piper asks.

"Home." Tracy tells her, before she literally falls over on her Mom's lap and goes to sleep.

All of that happened with Tracy on a Tuesday, and Phoebe was told that she could remove the dressing on her neck and shoulder, after three days. It's now Friday and Tracy is making her way downstairs to join everyone in the kitchen. No one even knew that she was awake or up moving around for that matter.

"Morning everyone." Tracy says, while yawning.

"Hey. How are you doing?" Prue replies, walking over and hugging her, but making sure she's careful not to hurt her, and she gives her best smile to her. Tracy hugs her back and leans her head over on Prue's shoulder to whisper in her ear and tell her, "No matter what, you better not leave us again. I've been told about the deal to get you back and what happened. You, are my favorite Aunt. That's not gonna ever change." Once they let go of each other, Tracy starts lightly scratching her neck.

"Is it time to take this thing off yet? It's really bugging me." Tracy tells them all, as she messes with the dressing a little bit, trying to pull the tape up on it.

"Leave that alone Trace. You still have about six hours before you can take that off. Personally, I would wait until after school today. You ready to go? Everyone else is getting their shoes on and backpacks ready to go." Paige tells her. Trace yawns again and nods her head that she's gonna try it. Since Trace is running a little bit behind, Paige puts her hand on Tracy's good shoulder and orbs her upstairs so she can get dressed, then orbs her back downstairs. Everyone gathers around the bus stop. They used to go to school in Prue's vehicle, but everyone got too big to be in there piled in together. This time when the kids head off for school, Phoebe calls in to work and asks if she can have the day off to catch up on some rest. Elise of course, had to make sure that everything was okay.

"What happened? Tracy back in the hospital?" Elise asks her.

"What? Oh, no. No, she's fine. She is completely Cancer free Elise. It's just that now, since she is in the clear and no Cancer in her anywhere, I've not slept much cause I was taking care of things, and her, and back and forth to the hospital. I just really need to catch up on some sleep. Everytime before that I tried to sleep, I didn't rest much cause I was always so worried that something would happen. I feel like I've not slept in the past five years. That's all. I promise, everything is fine." Phoebe assures her. Elise goes ahead and gives her the okay to stay home and rest up. Once Phoebe hangs up with Elise, she starts toward the house phone to call the school to check up on Tracy, but then something stops her. She hears someone say, "She's fine darling. Don't worry about her. Go get some rest." She knew that it was Grams talking to her. Instead of just going up to her room and going to bed, she goes up to her bathroom, changes into her swim suit, grabs a towel and sun tan lotion, and goes to lay by the pool with her favorite music.

That night, everyone has just finished with whatever homework they had, and Prue is putting the finishing touches on supper and Piper is helping with that while Paige is getting everyone settled down at the table, and Phoebe is trying to take Tracy's dressing off of her neck and shoulder without it hurting her.

"Now, you might want to get a good shower tonight after we get this off." Phoebe tells her.

"There's something you don't know Mom. I already got a shower Wednesday. I know the doctor said no shower until tonight, but what I did was get a trash bag, tear a small hole for my hand to go through it on the bottom, and taped it around my neck and shoulder to keep this dry. I'm sorry, but I had to get a shower. I can not stand to smell like a hospital or feel dirty." Tracy replies. Phoebe just gives a certain look like Tracy shouldn't have done what she did, but she lets it go cause it's already been done. They can see that the only thing that looks bad on Tracy is the cut on her neck and shoulder from where the last knot was removed. While all the kids are sitting around the table buzzing in conversation, the adults are near by to keep an eye on them all. The men are all talking in their own area of the kitchen, and then the women are off talking together.

"I hope the three of you know just how thankful I am to have sisters that love and care about a person as much as you all do about me. It's been great to be back, and there's not one thing I would change about being back either. I just wish that Tracy didn't have to go through everything she did in the past five years, but I'm glad I was able to be here and help. Thank You all for doing what you did to get me back." Prue tells them and they all hug each other.

"It's supposed to be the power of three, but I am just fine with the power of four." Paige says, holding up her drink. The rest of them get their drinks as well.

"Me too. The power of four will be so much better." Phoebe adds.

"You have no idea how much better we are going to be from here on out. Nothing, and no one, is going to stop us ever again." Piper says, holding up her glass.

"Or come inbetween either of us again. This is one hell of an unbreakable bond." Prue says, reaching for her glass and holding it up too.

"Mess with one, " Piper says, waiting for the rest of them.

"Mess with us all." Phoebe, Prue, and Paige all say with her. The girls cling their glasses together, and then turn to see their kids pick on each other but laugh about it too. None of them could be happier to be an even bigger, better family, since Prue came back into their lives.

"Prue. Welcome back dear sister. Welcome back." Piper tells her, with her arm around her shoulders, and Paige has her left hand on Prue's back, and Phoebe is laying her chin on her right shoulder from behind her. They know this time, there is no stopping them, all of them.

**THE END**


End file.
